Baby switches are nothing new in daytime. They provide months, if not years, of story, keeping viewers on pins and needles waiting for the "big reveal." Most are quite memorable and prompt hard-to-forget performances...when they're done correctly, like the As the World Turns baby switch between Gwen and Jennifer.

This was a beautifully-crafted, heartbreaking storyline where Gwen and Casey's baby died, but Craig switched their baby for his and Jennifer's. Hence, Jennifer thought her baby was dead, when really Gwen was raising him as a single parent. This baby switch worked because people sympathized with both parties. Viewers desperately wanted to see Jennifer reunited with her son, but felt sorry for Gwen and the inevitable loss she would face when that happened. Fortunately Gwen found support and comfort with her newly-discovered sister Carly and loving boyfriend Will.

The ATWT baby switch stands in stark contrast to the one currently airing on GH. It's diffi…

I don't know about the rest of you, but I have really been enjoying the introduction of the Jeromes on GH (particularly Ava and Julian --- Kiki I could take or leave). In fact it's really the only storyline I can even tolerate right now. It doesn't really make sense to me that Kate/Connie or whoever she is these days is now a journalist and has this mysterious boss whom no one has ever heard of in the form of "Derek Wells"; but I can overlook that if it keeps Maura West and William DeVry on my screen. It's amazing what a difference it makes to a storyline when dynamic, captivating actors are a part of it. We need a little more of that and less of the Sabrina/Felix/Patrick/Brad/Britt mess. I don't know whose idea it was to put them front and center for so long, but please put us out of our misery. Enough is enough!

I'm also seeing potential with the Luke/Holly storyline. I'll admit I wasn't watching GH when Sean Donely was on, but if the writer…

You know something is wrong on a soap when even the stars are complaining. Yesterday former GH star Jack Wagner (Frisco) took to twitter to vent about his disappointment in the handling of his character during the show's 50th and his regret that he didn't do something to rectify the situation. Here is one of his tweets below:

Don't forget very soon I will be adding web series Broken at Love to the weekly caption contests! If you haven't seen it yet you can view all eight episodes of Season 1 at http://www.brokenatlovetheseries.comAnd don't worry, it only takes about an hour and a half to catch up --- episodes are very short...and entertaining!

Also coming soon, I 'll be chatting with series creator, writer, co-executive producer, director, and star Karolina Sivas, so keep an eye out for that!

Former soap star Kevin Spirtas (Craig, DOOL;Jonas, OLTL;Les, Y&R) is set to star in Legacy Falls, a musical comedy about the soap genre. Legacy Falls is a part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival, with performances beginning next month. This looks like it will be a fun and entertaining production, so if you plan on being in the area be sure to check it out.! Tickets are just $25! For more information please visit their website at http://www.nymf.org/tickets/2013-events/legacy-falls/

I think I speak for most people when I say that GH revisiting the Franco storyline is beyond terrible. It appears that they are trying to redeem this character, not a foreign concept in soaps. Villains turn heroes all the time in this genre; but Franco is not redeemable. Even if we were to take his DVDs at face value and assume he didn't want Michael hurt, he wasn't beyond exploiting the rape to torture Jason --- remember Francophenia? The writers don't seem to, or they just don't care, which is worse. They would also have us believe that Franco only did the things he did because Jason somehow rejected him. How could that be? Franco was torturing Jason before Jason ever knew he existed! And don't get me started on how every character thinks Franco looks exactly the same as he did a few years ago. Franco doesn't look like Todd and Kiki doesn't look like Starr, just add some hair dye and the audience will be none the wiser...right!

So I took the last couple of days to catch up on OLTL on Hulu. Just a reminder Hulu is free if you watch on your computer. Anyway I watched every episode, then read through viewer comments to see what the feedback was. The reaction was pretty much what I expected, even before the first episode ever aired. I knew enough about what the plans were for the show to know what viewers would most likely like or dislike, but this is what I observed. The production quality is much better than what I expected, not at all comparable to most online shows. The cast is much smaller than it was on ABC, which is to be expected. I'm sure this bothers a lot of viewers, but I sort of like it this way. It brings all the focus to three or four storylines instead of splitting that focus in a dozen different directions (I'm looking at you GH). I've seen a lot of complaints about the cussing. There's definitely more cussing than the original OLTL. The Internet doesn't carry the same types …

Today it was announced via The Online Network that All My Children and One Life to Live will now air twice a week on Hulu and iTunes as opposed to the previous four times a week. This is so the audience might more easily follow these shows long-term. It was determined that it may be too hard for people to fit in both of these shows in their daily tv viewing schedule, despite the fact that each episode of both shows is only 30 min. long. Below is an excerpt of the press release:

we have chosen to revise our scheduling model beginning this Monday, May 20th by introducing two new episodes from OLTL and AMC each week- new episodes of AMC will now run on Mondays and Wednesdays, and fresh episodes of OLTL will post Tuesdays and Thursdays. MORE, our behind the scenes series, will run as a single show on Fridays. This allows us to introduce a new episode of quality television every Monday through Friday and gives the audience a chance to catch up as we continue to build awareness and exciteme…

The drama continues between Prospect Park and ABC. According to Deadline.comProspect Park is suing ABC for $25 million dollars. Prospect Park claims that ABC is in "breach of contract" over the OLTL characters who were essentially on loan from them. Reportedly this will not affect the re-launching of OLTL and AMC on April 29th. Of course it remains to be seen what if any impact this will have on General Hospital and the characters that Roger Howarth, Michael Easton, and Kristen Alderson will ultimately play when they return to the show. You can read the full article by clicking on the deadline.com link above. I'll post updates as they become available.

We've been wondering when it was going to happen and now General Hospital is bringing Morgan home from military school. The character has been recast. Actor Bryan Craig (pictured left) will now inhabit the role. Though no air date has been announced Soap Opera Digeststates that the actor has already begun taping.

With an already full canvas, it will be interesting to see how GH plans to incorporate this character. Wouldn't it be a strange twist if they pair him with Kristen Alderson's yet-to-be-named character when she returns to the show? Whatever GH plans to do with him the actor seems excited about his new job. He sent the following tweet out earlier this week:

Actress Amber Tamblyn, who originated the role of Emily Quartermaine on General Hospital, released an eloquent statement on the show's 50th anniversary and what being a part of its history means to her. On her facebook page Amber writes about how the soap helped her hone her craft and allowed her to form meaningful and lasting relationships. Read the full statement below:

The legal mess between Prospect Park and ABC continues and it's creating a lot of drama. According to TV Guide.comMichael Easton, Roger Howarth, and Kristen Alderson will be returning to General Hospital as planned, however they will most likely be playing entirely different characters. While I have been hoping these three actors would return to GH, I can't say I'm happy about the prospect of them playing new characters. In my opinion this is worse than if the actors had simply left the show. I really can't foresee any creative solution to this problem, especially in the case of Michael Easton, who has already played dual roles on GH, one of which was a vampire. Yes, soap viewers routinely suspend the reality of disbelief, but since Starr, Todd, and John have become such significant characters on GH I don't see how they can possibly come back as different characters anytime soon. I might be able to get on board with one actor returning in this capacity, but three? …

The wait is almost over! All My Children and One Life to Live will be returning April 29th on Hulu and iTunes. For those of you who don't like watching programs on your computer you can watch these shows on your tv if you have a Hulu Plus subscription and a device capable of streaming Hulu (apple tv, xbox, wii, various blu-ray players and tvs). Hulu is currently offering a free one week trial, after that it is about $8 a month. I'm assuming you can still watch these shows for free on basic Hulu but it will require you to view them on your computer. As for iTunes, I'm not sure what the specifications will be for watching these shows, but when I find out I will post details here immediately. In the meantime, here are a few links you will find helpful:

UPDATE: Michael Fairman Soapsis reporting that Barash's management team has now confirmed his exit. No word yet on when his last air date will be or how his character will exit the show. Barash's character Johnny is currently serving time in Pentonville so they may simply let him slip off the canvas. As soon as more details emerge I'll post them on here.

A few hours ago actor Brandon Barash, who plays Johnny Zacchara on General Hospital saddened and confused fans when he announced he was leaving the show to pursue a career in the NBA. So far there have been no official announcements from show representatives, so was this a twisted joke on Barash's part or is he really leaving the show he has been a part of since 2007? Read his tweet below and decide for yourself:

In the People Magazine Collector's Edition, which celebrates 50 years of General Hospital, Brianna Brown (ex-Lisa Niles) was named one of the soap's best villains. The actress shared her excitement over this news with fans via facebook :

According to multiple websites the special edition of People is on newsstands now. A hardcover version is also expected to be released on March 12th!

OLTL Co-Head Writer Thom Racina has been taking tofacebook to give fans insight on what they can expect from their beloved soap when it begins airing again next month via The Online Network. In this latest video from Racina he teases fans about the new direction of the show and what the freedom of the Internet will mean for the show's storylines.

Next month previously canceled soaps All My Children and One Life to Live will begin airing again online. Recently stars of the shows marked their comeback with a photo shoot and it was documented by Entertainment Tonight. Watch the behind the scenes video below:

I guess the rumors were true -- ABC Soaps in Depthhas announced that Julie Marie Berman, who has played Lulu on General Hospital since 2005 is now exiting the show. Apparently Berman just taped her final episode yesterday. The actress made the following statement on twitter about her departure:

It looks like soap fans will once again have a reason to watch Dancing with the Stars when the show returns March 18th. According to Access Hollywood,on-again/off-again GH star Ingo Rademacher (Jax) will be competing on the hit ABC show alongside professional dancer Kym Johnson.

Earlier today actress Kassie DePaiva (Blair, OLTL) tweeted her excitement for the OLTL reboot, set to begin production later this month.

It's difficult not to get excited about the renewal of these soaps when the stars are this enthused. Despite the fact that many people don't like watching tv online, I really hope AMC and OLTL can defy the odds and build an audience, making history in the process. Now that we are down to only four soaps on network tv the success of these shows online is imperative to the future of the genre. According to ABC Soaps in DepthAMC and OLTL will alternate their tapings in Connecticut until both shows have filmed for 17 weeks.

Last week I posted a series of tweets from actor John Stamos (ex-Blackie, GH), where he showed off pictures from his visit to the set of General Hospital. Now comes a report from tvguide.com that Stamos has met with GH execs and would indeed be open to a return if he could do some acting. Apparently the show had originally wanted him to play back-up for Rick Springfield during a rendition of "Jessie's Girl", but the actor passed...good call! It does sound as though he is open to coming back to the show even if he can't appear in time for the 50th anniversary.

Dear GH: Make. It. Happen - This is a struggling genre and if a successful actor who began his career on this show wants to return AND do some actual acting, LET HIM! This is a far better offer than your original idea to have him appear as part of some cheap stunt.

You can watch Stamos talk about his possible return to GH Monday on The Jeff Probst Show. Check out a clip of that interview below!

Earlier today Soap Opera Digest posted a press release from The Online Network, the future home of All My Children and One Life to Live. The release states that production for both shows will begin on February 25th. They will air sometime this spring.

As previously reported the following actors have been confirmed to re-join AMC:

Eariler today General Hospital's Laura Wright (Carly) tweeted that we will indeed be seeing more of Michael Easton, Roger Howarth, and Kristen Alderson on the show. Of course it remains to be seen if we will be seeing them in the same roles. As I posted last week there has been speculation that these three actors would return to GH as different characters. This would mean that the roles of Todd, Starr, and John would be recast on the OLTL reboot. Obviously Michael Easton is playing dual roles on GH right now, so could we be saying goodbye to John at some point, and hello to Caleb? I guess we'll have to stay tuned to find out.

About Me

Paula graduated cum laude from Tennessee Technological University with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies emphasizing English and Communication.
She developed a love for the soap opera genre at an early age and has since been drawn to anything dramatic.
In high school Paula won the leading role in her first play and remained active in the theatre until graduating. She then went on to participate in college level theatre courses while working toward her degree. At the end of her freshman year she entered and won an acting contest which earned her a walk-on role on "That 70's Show." Once she completed this acting stint, Paula returned to college and started writing, and has been doing so ever since. In 2013 she created Paula's Soapbox LIVE, a LIVE video chat interview show. Since then she has chatted with numerous people in the entertainment industry, including Julie Ann Emery, Keaton Simons, Martha Byrne, Kevin Brief, Tracy Melchior, Natalia Livingston and many more! She is currently working as a freelance writer.